Liverpool and Manchester City set to renew hostilities ahead of make-or-break period in their chase to make history
For Liverpool, the next six weeks could be the best of times. Or, alternatively, they could be the worst of times.
That might sound dramatic, but the stakes have rarely been this high at Anfield.
As we enter the final weeks of a thrilling season on Merseyside, Jurgen Klopp and his players still have the opportunity to sweep the board as far as the honors go.
With the Carabao Cup already stowed safely away in the Liverpool trophy cabinet, the FA Cup and Champions League remain within grasp at the semi-final stages as Klopp's men continue to breathe down the neck of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Who will be crowned #EmiratesFACup champions this season? 🏆 https://t.co/d7yBD2YyT4
Ah, yes, Manchester City. It is they who realistically stand in the way of an historic piece of footballing success for Klopp and this wondrous squad he has constructed over the last few years.
A pulsating, absorbing, high-quality draw between the two teams last week at the Etihad offered no real insight into just who is going to win this Premier League title with just one point separating the pair.
Away from the trials and tribulations of that titanic league struggle, however, the two best teams on the continent will now compete for a place in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
For one, it will mean the end of the road as far as those big dreams go. Liverpool's quadruple hopes or City's treble aspirations, one of them must bite the dust in London this weekend. It is what makes this game such an intriguing one. Even more so than it normally would be between these two irrepressible giants of the English game.
With City still chasing their own treble of a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup - to match the 1999 feat of their great local rivals Manchester United - they have just as vested an interest in the tie as Klopp's men at Wembley.
Neither side will want to give an inch then, even if it is Pep Guardiola's team who were given the more taxing examination in the respective second legs of their Champions League quarter-final ties on Wednesday.
While Klopp was able to make seven changes at home to Benfica, City were made to fight, quite literally at times, until the final whistle of their 180 minutes against Atletico Madrid as they squeezed through in a game that was light on goals but heavy on fiery confrontations.
Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker could miss Liverpool clash
As a result, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker will almost certainly miss out on Saturday, perhaps handing the initiative to the Reds.
Victory for Liverpool will embolden them. They are yet to beat City this season and have for much of their two matches so far looked second best to Guardiola's league leaders.
Crucially, though, for the dominance City have exerted over their rivals, at times, Klopp's men have refused to wilt and it must be a great source of frustration for those at the Etihad - none more so than their manager - that the Reds have still managed to get results against while also clawing back a deficit that, at one point, stood at 14 in January.
It's no wonder Guardiola calls them "a pain in the a***". Conversely, however, there is a dark, dank feeling that exists among the pessimists of the Liverpool fanbase that they could yet end their campaign of otherworldly promise with 'just' the League Cup to show for their efforts.
Up next... an #EmiratesFACup semi-final clash with @ManCity 👊 https://t.co/fXubYkZyfo
Silverware in any form cannot be sniffed at and Liverpool's record-setting ninth League Cup was celebrated as passionately as any that went before it by those at Wembley at the end of February, but ending the season with only those winners' medals would be a disappointment when you consider that the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League await.
The feeling is that City are the only side who can deny them at least adding to their collection this season and for those whose glass is half empty, that is a genuine fear for this run-in.
So how do you view these next few weeks? Can Liverpool take the lot to make it the greatest season of all time at Anfield? Or do City have a chance of their own piece of history by winning the only trophy that has evaded them during the Sheikh Mansour era in the European Cup? And just what happens in the FA Cup and Premier League? There are an awful lot of questions left to be resolved.
It could be the best of times. It could be the worst of times.